May 31, 2006

EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Seniors Jonathan Rowe (Reading, Pa./Schuylkill Valley) and Deborah Fink (North Wales, Pa./North Penn) may have graduated less than two weeks ago, but their academic and athletic accomplishments continue. Both track and field veterans garnered ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II accolades, as announced on Wednesday afternoon.

A two-time IC4A qualifier in the 35-pound weight throw, Rowe was named first team all-district after maintaining a 3.83 grade-point average in Computer Science. Rowe was the runner-up at the 2005-06 Indoor Patriot League Championships (54' 3 ¼") after finishing third the two previous seasons. He is third all-time at Lafayette in the weight (56' 8 ½") and sixth in the hammer (167' 11").

Rowe posted a 4.0 GPA in last fall, making the Dean's List for the seventh straight semester. A Patriot League Academic Honor Roll member, Rowe is a Trustee and EXCEL Scholar and also graduated with a minor in Mathematics. The Reading, Pa. native was accepted to North Carolina State for graduate school beginning this fall.

Senior Deborah Fink earned second team academic all-district accolades following a solid Lafayette career.

Named to the All-District II Second Team, Fink capped an outstanding Lafayette career with ECAC All-East Honors after taking fifth in the 400m hurdles (1:00.88) at the event. An NCAA Regional qualifier in the 400m hurdles, Fink is second all-time at Lafayette in the same event and was Outdoor Patriot League Champion in 2004. Fink also brought home the 500m title at the 2005-06 indoor league championships in February, earning her first team all-conference laurels. A two-time Outdoor Patriot League Athlete of the Week, Fink captained the 2006 women's outdoor team that took third overall at the league championships, marking the highest finish ever by Lafayette women's track and field.

The EXCEL Scholar carried a 3.52 GPA in Neuroscience, while also being named to the Dean's List and Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. Fink has been enrolled in the Physical Therapy Health Professions doctoral program at Thomas Jefferson University, which she plans to begin this fall.

Rowe and Fink join a pair of other Lafayette student-athletes to earn mention on the all-district list. Field hockey senior Jenna Bratz and baseball junior James Conrad also garnered the award earlier this month.